Visakhapatnam IT/ITeS sector surges 20% in 2013

TNN | Updated: Sep 15, 2013, 4:17 IST

VISAKHAPATNAM: Despite the political 'uncertainty' looming large over AP Inc and global headwinds, Visakhapatnam IT industry has registered an impressive growth in financial year 2012-13, data released by the state IT department on Saturday revealed. Visakhapatnam IT/ITeS revenues soared 20% to Rs 1,445 crore in 2012-13 as against Rs 1,200 crore in 2011-12. The employment generated by the IT/ITeS industry of the city too increased to 16,988 jobs from 16,000 jobs in the period under review. "The date reveals that the IT/ITeS industry is back on track. Especially with the health of the US economy improving last fiscal, many companies here have seen a turnaround as a bulk of the business comes from the US. However, a lot needs to be done to boost the prospects of Vizag as an IT hub," Vizag Information Technology Association (VITA) president Deepak Madala said. Apart from Visakhapatnam, other tier-II and tier-III cities like Vijayawada, Kakinada and Tirupati in the state too put up a good show in 2012-13 fiscal year. Vijayawada's IT/ITeS revenues shot up to Rs 115.26 crore as compared to Rs 95.6 crore while Tirupati's revenues from IT/ITeS sector increased to Rs 6.93 crore in 2012-13 as against Rs 4.25 crore in 2011-12. Kakinada's IT/ITeS revenue almost doubled to Rs 61.54 crore in 2012-13 as against Rs 34.67 crore in the previous year. The area occupied by the IT/ITeS industry in the tier 2 cities too rose to 13.5 lakh sq ft in the fiscal year 2012-13 as compared to 12 lakh sq ft in 2011-12. State IT and communications minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah had on earlier occasions stressed on the fact that the government has been actively pursuing the development of IT industry in tier-II cities over the last few years.

"We are constructing incubation centres in Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Warangal and Tirupati and they are expected to be completed in the next two to three months. Hence, the development of IT in tier-II centres is something that the government has already been working on," the minister had said. Meanwhile, the state's overall IT/ITeS revenues from exports, special economic zones (SEZs), Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and domestic business rose 26.17% to Rs 64,354 crore in 2012-13 as compared to Rs 53,246 crore in the previous fiscal year. However, Hyderabad continued to account for a lion's share of the overall IT/ITeS business in AP with over Rs 62,722.51 crore of the total Rs 64,354 crore state revenue coming from the city itself.